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Playing Skill Challenges
Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Galaxy of Intrigue Main Article: Skill Challenges For players, Skill Challenges represent a chance not only to use your Skills in a meaningful way, but also to have your heroes contribute to an exciting scene. Skill Challenges are great for fleshing out your characters, letting their personalities come to life in the actions they take outside of combat encounters. A Skill Challenge offers an opportunity to roleplay your characters' strengths, and perhaps even weaknesses, in a dynamic way. As a player, your responsibility in the Skill Challenge is to come up with creative actions that can help your allies achieve the goal of the challenge. When it is your turn, think of an action that is appropriate for your hero in that situation. If possible, the action should play to your hero's strengths and give you a chance to show off your character's areas of expertise. Describe the action to your Gamemaster, and, if the GM approves of the idea, make a Skill Check (Or another check that the GM calls for) to determine the result. Once each of your allies has had a chance to act, it will be your turn again, provided that the Skill Challenge has not ended. Over the course of the Skill Challenge, the situation might evolve. You might receive new information, the backdrop could change, or the goals could shift as the challenge progresses. Be sure to think about how your hero would react to the changing circumstances of the Skill Challenge, and come up with new and interesting things to do. Below are some tips to help you choose actions that will contribute to an exciting, dynamic scene. Think Cinematically Skill Challenges represent interesting and thrilling scenes in the Star Wars milieu, and you should take actions that fit that aspect of the saga. Heroes in Star Wars take risks and engage in reckless stunts, yet they often succeed despite overwhelming odds. So too should your hero take risks. Think about the valiant actions depicted in the films- the heroes jump out of windows and grab onto flying Droids high in the skylanes of Coruscant, and they leap onto the backs of Speeder Bikes to recklessly pursue Scout Troopers on Endor. When trying to decide what to do during a Skill Challenge, think not only about what your character would do based on his or her personality, but also about what your character could do that would be cinematically daring. Use Your Strengths During a Skill Challenge, you should use your strengths to achieve the most success. Think beyond your Skill modifiers; consider what your character is good at, and use that knowledge to inform the types of actions you take. For example, if you are a Rebel saboteur, you are much more than a collection of Mechanics and Use Computer checks. You probably have Talents, Feats, Equipment, and perhaps Prestige Class features that contribute to your overall capability as a saboteur. Try using abilities that add to the cinematic drama of the scene, even if they do not necessarily grant bonuses to your Skill Checks. For instance, your hero could simply make a Mechanics check in an attempt to cause a bridge collapse, or your character could set up a turret to fire lasers at the support struts for the bridge. Although the former solution is serviceable, the latter option makes use not only of your skill but also, potentially, of your Talents and Equipment, and it results in a more vivid scene. Embrace Versatility Sometimes it might seem as if the best option in a Skill Challenge is to do the same thing over and over again. However, this repetition will grow boring quickly, and it could end up making the Skill Challenge harder for you and your allies. If the Gamemaster restricts the number of times a Skill can be used in the challenge, taking the same action multiple times will run up the count, closing the door on that option for your fellow heroes. For this reason, during a Skill Challenge you should embrace versatility, use different Skills, and take advantage of your character's Talents, Feats, and other assets. In this way, you will create a more exciting and interesting scene, and you will not deny your allies a chance to use the same skills.